The scene: Two of America’s most respected songwriters effortlessly dazzled a sold-out audience with no more than a few acoustic guitars and some charmingly awkward banter.

Having heard great things about Lyle Lovett’s Large Band, I was initially disappointed that this was to be a low-key affair, but now I can’t imagine seeing him any other way.

Anyone who listens to popular music should be familiar with at least a few of John Hiatt’s songs, if not the man himself, since he’s written for everyone from Bob Dylan to Three Dog Night. He seemingly joked about writing a song for Paula Abdul -- probably not true. Probably.

Lovett and Hiatt took turns playing songs from their vast catalogs while the other politely sat back and watched in admiration. There was a nice contrast between the two performers. Hiatt sang edgy songs about the road, losing love and leaving places, all with a time-worn, bluesy voice. Lovett sang in his clean and pleasing tenor. His songs were jazzier and told quirky stories about one-eyed ladies, angry wives, Christmas hookers and ponies on boats.

There were a few rare occasions where Lovett and Hiatt accompanied each other, and these were some of the best moments of the night.

Both performers shined in an acoustic setting as they are both incredible guitar players. Unfortunately, the soul of their music can often be stripped away by overly slick studio productions. Here’s hoping that a live recording of these two together is forthcoming.

The crowd: There were very few people under the age of 30 in attendance, which is a terrible shame. A younger audience might have been inspired by these two songwriting legends to go straight home, pick up a guitar and start writing.

Highlights: Lovett and Hiatt did some call and response during a haunting rendition of “I will Rise Up/Ain’t No Cane” that froze the audience. When the song was over there was a collective sigh as everybody started to breathe again.

Much of the entertainment resulted from Hiatt fumbling for something to talk about while Lovett casually sifted deadpan humor from Hiatt’s ramblings.

Lowlight: During “One Thing I Like (bout that gal of mine)” the sound cut out, interrupting Lovett’s best guitar performance of the night. Afterwards, he quipped, “That’s what you call real acoustic music.”